HIVE Minded: Redux
by The Literary Lord
Summary: A slightly tweaked version of HIVE Minded, by Slayer Anderson, who is starting it over, and gave me the OK to use this version. (Original Sum): Danny gets an acceptance notification from a school that he never applied to. I know what you're thinking…green ink, owls, and a castle, right? Sorry, not this time. An attempt at originality towards a worn concept.
1. Chapter 1

Adopted from: Slayer Anderson

HIVE-Minded Part 1: Relocated

A Danny Phantom/Teen Titans Fanfiction

05/25/09

* * *

Summary: Danny Fenton gets an acceptance notification from a school that he never applied to. I know what you're thinking…green ink, owls, and a castle, right? Sorry, not this time.

* * *

*A/N (1): This story takes place after 'The Fenton Menace.' All events before that episode are identical to the cannon storyline. This means the events of 'The Ultimate Enemy' have already occurred and Jazz knows who Danny is.

*A/N (2): The Teen Titans storyline, when it overlaps, will do so before the introduction of the Hive team. Therefore, this storyline begins before the events of the animated Teen Titans series do.

* * *

Chapter 1-School Daze

* * *

_Dear Mr. Fenton,_

_We at the HIVE Academy for Extraordinary Young People would like to offer you a scholarship to attend our prestigious school free of charge, complete with room and board. Our facilities include state of the art electronic libraries, exercise and work-out rooms, and only the most competent lecturers. Virtually any subject can be researched and awarded credit for on our curriculum standards._

_We also offer a very understanding atmosphere for uniquely gifted or challenged students and are willing to accommodate physical disabilities, medical concerns, and intellectual needs. Our enclosed brochure and scholarship offer details will, we hope, convince you that the HIVE Academy for Extraordinary Young People is the appropriate choice for your continued education._

_Sincerely,_

Headmistress Alexandria Trotsky

_P.S.-This letter should arrive while a school representative is in your area. To schedule a meeting with our representative, please call (555)555-8989._

"Well Dann-o, looks like you got my brains, at least!"

His father's rant went unheard as Daniel Fenton looked disbelievingly at the invitation. It had taken a moment, but the unreality of the situation had hit him…hard. His grades were…less than spectacular.

No, if he was honest with himself, his grades were horrible.

So, the question became: How did a C average (barely) buy him acceptance, much less a scholarship, into a _private_ school. It was…wrong. More than that, every sense that he had honed as the superhero Danny Phantom was going off in alarm.

"I'm not going," Danny said suddenly, making both his parents blink in confusion. Maddie frowned as her goggled eyes narrowed.

"Danny, I know you may like Casper High and your little friends, but you should at least consider the offer. It's a wonderful opportunity for you to enrich your education."

Danny shook his head. "Mom, I appreciate the offer, but I don't think…"

"You could at least go and talk to them," Maddie pointed out. "It won't hurt to check out the school and you don't have to make your decision now."

"Mom…"

"Or you could help you father clean the lab for…oh, how about the next three months?" Maddie smiled pleasantly, her tone vaguely unsettling.

Danny sighed, beaten. "Fine. I'll just…give them a call, then…"

"I'm glad to see you taking this opportunity Danny," Maddie said graciously, kissing her son on the cheek and moving to get dinner ready.

Jasmine Fenton walked in her house to find her father ranting about how smart his son was, her mother humming happily as she basted a chicken with an ectoplasmic baking compound, and Danny looking consigned to a horrible fate.

She sighed tiredly and approached Danny.

"So, what'd I miss?"

* * *

"Weird," Tucker commented, only half of his attention on the conversation; the other half focused on the small device in his hands and its glowing screen.

"Tucker," Sam growled, "It's not just weird! Danny's right, it might be one of Vlad's plans!"

"To…what? Get Danny a quality education?" Tucker responded sarcastically.

"How about getting him away from Amity Park?" Sam replied. "Without Danny here, do you think we'd even have a chance against his royal cheese-ness?"

Tucker frowned, but didn't look up from his PDA. "I still don't think it _has _to be Vlad. Spectra's infiltrated the school system…twice now? You'd think they'd have a better hiring policy."

Sam snorted lightly, but conceded the point. Bad feelings, bad history, and attempted murder aside, Vlad wasn't behind _every_ scheme that came Danny's way. At least…not that they knew of.

"So, mom is freaking out about my meeting later, Jazz is freaking out about me getting a scholarship to a private school half-way across the country, and dad is…" Danny shrugged, not needing to finish that sentence.

After all, Jack Fenton's behavior was fairly predictable, come hell or high water.

"Why is Jazz freaking out?" Sam asked. "No offense, but I thought she'd be happy to see you get away from all the ghost stuff. Especially with that horrible family vacation from last month."

Danny shivered. "If I ever see Young Blood again, it'll be too soon. Well, to tell the truth, Jazz seemed a little…frustrated. After all, she's got the good grades, so I guess she was angry…maybe jealous."

"I don't blame her," Tucker muttered. "I mean, if I were picking for scholarships I wouldn't go for a freshman, much less one with your grades."

"Thanks Tuck," Danny sighed sardonically. "You know, I was kind of looking forward to some time off. If this doesn't turn out to be some crazy plot maybe I should try the other school."

"You don't really mean that, do you Danny?" Sam asked, suddenly worried.

"No…well, maybe. I'd just like to be normal once and a while and anytime I try, I end up fighting Vlad, the Fright Knight, the Ghost King, or…" Danny trailed off again. The memories of his alternate, evil, self were still too fresh. Too raw.

Sam bulldozed through the awkward moment.

"But you're Amity Park's hero, Danny! If you leave, the ghosts will have free reign, practically!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Sam, I think you and Tucker would have things covered for a while if I had to leave. Besides, it wouldn't be forever, maybe just a semester if I didn't like it. Plus, if there was a real emergency, I could fly across country in a few hours."

Sam frowned, but didn't press the matter.

Tucker shrugged the problem off as he was wont to do with everything not related to his precious electronic. "Sam, relax. Danny's right, we'll take care of it if the spooks cause trouble and we can always ask Danny's-"

"-Sister," Danny interrupted. "You can ask my sister. Since Jazz knows my secret, she'll make time to help you. I'd rather you didn't put my parents in mortal danger while I'm not around to save them. If things get desperate, you can go to Valerie for help. If you drop enough hints, she'll come out guns blazing."

"Right," Sam said sourly. It didn't sit well with her, having to depend on Vlad's 'happy little helper,' but if it came down to that or another ghost invasion… "Talk about the evil you know."

"Better than the evil you don't," Tucker recited. "So, when's this interview?"

Danny blinked and looked down to his watch. "…Damn it."

Sam and Tucker tried not to snicker as the secret teen superhero took off running.

* * *

"You must be Mr. Fenton, right on time."

One good thing about his…extracurricular activities, he could run faster than almost any other student in his school and, from the look of it, he needed every second. The woman who greeted him in the hotel was the epitome of a strict disciplinarian; her hair was drawn back into a tight bun and she wore clothing that would be more at home a few decades earlier with sharp eyes and a sharper tone of voice.

"Well? Come in, we haven't time to dawdle," She criticized curtly.

"Yes mam," Danny replied, snapping to attention. As he walked into the room and set down, he noticed her cryptic gaze following him, judging. Silently, he thanked his mother for forcing him into a pressed polo and slacks and taming his hair.

With a barely perceptible nod, he knew he'd past whatever unspoken inspection she had performed. The woman sat across from him with impeccable posture and opened a file folder with his name on it. His breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of the photo on the top file.

"Let me begin by commending you, Mr. Fenton. Most villains don't bother with the menial task of maintaining a secret identity. It took quite a bit of legwork for even _our _agents to find the renowned menace Danny Phantom. You are a very good actor Mr. Fenton, especially given that you live with the world-famous ghost hunters."

The sudden unreality of the situation left the teen in gaping shock and panic.

"Now, now, don't be so surprised. The Hive academy is always looking for gifted individuals inclined to terrorizing or thieving the populous. You've been on our recruitment list for quite a while, you know."

The damning photo caught him in mid-morph and shock drained away as it was replaced by anger. Again, _again_! Why couldn't he just have one normal day! Just one! The temperature in the room dropped dramatically as Danny, whether rationally or irrationally, sought out a target for his rage.

The Headmistress' breath caught in her throat as the teen's eyes flashed a cool ectoplasmic green and then, as quick as before, to an ice-blue so cold as to be artic. She had been suspicious when her agents had reported such a seemingly light-hearted person as a talented villain. That he could make Public Enemy #1, even in such a small city as Amity Park…

What she saw now, though…

The dark seething anger directed at her, the cold black tug at her heart that she hadn't felt since an age she thought long past.

She smiled a smile better suited to a shark.

"What do you want?" Danny growled out, his anger having blinded him to her earlier words.

The Headmistress smiled another toothy smile. "I want you to be a student at my school. It would be quite the feather in our hat to have you choose us over our competitors."

"School?" Danny asked dumbly, flummoxed by the suggestion that someone would go to all the trouble of finding out his secret identity to… "You want me to go to a school for villains?"

Normally, he would proudly declare that he was a hero. He'd done it enough that it proved the majority of the people in this town were deaf or retarded. But, the woman in front of him seemed to have a vested interest in him being, not only a villain, but a fairly famous one. So, for once in his life, Daniel Fenton bit his tongue.

"Absolutely, we offer a variety of courses, such as Doomsday Device Construction 503, Sewing Dissention in Political Sciences 208, and Practical Applications for Theories of Destruction 101." The Headmistress recited gladly. "For a student of your caliber, your scholarship would include room and board and some additional spending money if your grades remain acceptable."

"About that," Danny broached the subject gently, trying to ignore the fact that the school actually sounded interesting. "If you've done so much research on me then you should know I have…"

"If you attend The HIVE academy, we forgive all previous academic discrepancies. Understand, though, you will be held to the highest standards if you make this commitment." The Headmistress elaborated sternly.

"And if I don't?" Danny asked, struck by a fit of rebelliousness and reminding himself that he was a hero. Heroes didn't associate with villains. They especially didn't go to _school_ with them.

Another toothy smile.

"Even though they are just minions or mind controlled puppets that you've duped into believing they're your parents…destroying them would be detrimental to your cover at least. If that isn't enough, I'm willing to leak this image to the press, internet, and anyone who would even be willing to talk to you. I think you'll find we can make your life…afterlife, very difficult."

Danny closed his eyes to keep from following his first instinct, which was to overshadow the woman and manipulate her memories. She reminded him too much of Vlad.

If he'd learned one thing about the fruit-loop, it was that he always, _always_ had a contingency plan.

So, Plan B, then…

"Do you offer career planning options?" His mom had told him to ask that, and it was as good a time as any to do so.

Especially since Plan B involved stalling.

"Since you ask, the classes we offer double as college credits and we have several degree plans…"

Danny blinked…high school _and_ college?

* * *

The meeting had lasted three hours.

In the end, they'd exchanged threats, cold stares, and Danny had said some things which would have had his mother cleaning his mouth out with a plasma torch. In comparison, it made what he'd said to Vlad on pervious occasions seem like small talk.

In his defense, Danny had never before faced someone like the Headmistress, which was the only name she'd given him to call her by. Vlad was nearly at her level, but she had schemes within schemes and had alluded to enough that even _Danny_ knew when he was outclassed.

Then she'd threatened his family.

He'd threatened her.

She'd threatened his friends.

He'd threatened her precious school.

She'd threatened his identity.

He'd…run out of threats.

And if he'd revealed he was a hero? She'd have seen all her threats to fruition in an instant and he'd…

Red eyes, fanged teeth, and a forked tongue made him shiver. If his family died…and he doubted he'd be able to protect everyone, everyday, twenty-four/seven… If he didn't go, his family would die, eventually. If he tried to fight, his family would die.

Eventually.

If he went…

Red eyes and a grinning mouth. Taunting him, looking out over a dead world.

The wind tugged at his jumpsuit as he flew patrol, his motions on autopilot and his mind wandering, trying desperately to find a solution. Rather, to find a way out of the problem he'd already sucked himself into.

In the end, he'd said yes.

Term started in two months.

Now he had to go home and explain exactly why he'd made a decision like that without any input from his family without telling them exactly why he'd made the decision. Besides, it wasn't like he could even _begin_ to tell his parents and…

Jazz, Tucker, and Sam would try to help.

And he knew, by the way the Headmistress' smile showed too many teeth, and that dark, cruel laughter behind her eyes…she wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

Then he was back to square one.

So he would go to school and learn how to be a proper villain. He would put forth his best effort. He'd make friends, smile, and learn everything he could. Then…then, he'd melt her face off.

Or freeze it.

He frowned as he looked at his ice-incrusted fist. That was yet another thing wrong with this day…and something he really needed to figure out. Flexing his fingers, he shook the ice off and focused on his more immediate concerns.

Friends and family.

The easiest way would be to just break it off with all of them. Tell them he was tired of all this ghost nonsense and wanted something like a normal life. He'd already said as much, but they hadn't taken him seriously.

Convince them that it was better this way.

Toe the line with the villains.

Try not to loose his soul to the darkness inside him.

His fist clenched again as ice formed over it. He hated himself for wanting that woman dead, for giving into her way of thinking so easily, so naturally. He hated himself for stooping to her level.

That still didn't make him hate her any less.

* * *

_I feel like I don't even know you!_

_Dude, we're your friends! At least give us a real reason!_

_Danny, you have responsibilities in Amity Park!_

Their voices fell on deaf ears as the months drew to a close. Danny concentrated on his school work more, isolated himself, and stopped going out with friends. He'd redoubled his ghost-fighting efforts, but was all the more brutal for it. His last fight with Skulker had taken out a city block, earned him a terrifying new reputation, and cemented his plans.

The only deviation had been Danni.

The ghost girl had stormed into his life and almost gotten him killed.

But…but, Danny felt hard-pressed to hold a grudge against someone who had been deceived into doing evil. Especially since he was being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the darkness himself.

He felt a certain grim satisfaction as the box ghost was incased in a beam of ice shot from his palm. That was yet another change.

After that mess with the Infi-map, he'd been wary of asking Frostbite for help again, but the yeti-dog-man-thing had come through with an impressive training regime. The fact that he'd turned Undergrowth into a hedge ornament did something to alleviate his conscience when he'd betrayed his town in almost every other way.

Soon, though, very soon, he'd be out of Amity Park, and free from hurting the people he loved. Then, in a year or so, he could return with that woman's head on a platter and give Vlad a few new bruises.

Things were already looking up.

**************If you want me to keep updating my _Phantom in the Bund_ DP/Dance in the Vampire Bund Crossover story, the first story in a multi-crossover series spanning most of my DP crossovers, I need ************Dance in the Vampire Bund volumes 11-13 available ASAP! I will focus on my other stories less as well until I can get the manga so I can know more about the series (a big part of the reason I have waited so long for some of my other stories).**


	2. Chapter 2

Adopted From: Slayer Anderson

Hive-Minded Part II

A Teen Titans/Danny Phantom Fanfiction

10/07/09

* * *

Chapter 2-Confrontations and Assimilations

* * *

_Dear Mr. Fenton,_

_With the new term starting up in a scant few weeks, we wish to issue a challenge to all new and returning students. Consider this something of a summer assignment. You will need to liberate the contents of two bank vaults without drawing any attention to yourself from the local populace, law enforcement, or superheroes. You will need to present proof-of-theft at your Deception and Stealth 101 class._

_H.I.V.E. Academy_

* * *

He'd cashed the bus tickets in and decided to fly to California. Jump City, specifically, was this little no-name neo-metropolis city that wasn't particularly famous for anything. Well…

It wasn't _famous_ for it, but it did evidently have the largest secondary school for super-villains on the North American continent. He'd puzzle that one out later, because he had somewhat more pressing matters to consider right now.

One of the principle reasons he'd decided to fly to California as Phantom was so that he could make a few pit-stops along the way. The reason he'd need to make pit-stops was to finish his 'summer homework.'

Which was turning into the biggest headache he'd ever experienced.

All in all, he had every right to be angry; he was a ghost, stealing was supposed to be _easy_! Heck, he'd even done it before! In fact, it was more than a little embarrassing _not_ to be able to pull off a bank heist without getting caught.

He'd actually aborted his last two attempts a few towns ago when he'd set off a few motion alarms and a laser grid. It turned out, coincidentally, that even while intangible and invisible, his ectoplasmic body carried enough mass to disturb air currents and beams of dense light.

The second attempt had failed because someone had installed temperature sensors in the main vault and been _very _curious when the thermometer had dropped two dozen degrees. Evidently, his ghost form was a little cold.

…

Who knew?

…

To summarize, he was being blackmailed to attend a prestigious school for villains, had broken off any semblance of friendship with people who'd been there for him more than his own _family_, and…to top it all off…

He was _going to fail his summer assignment_!

Danny's face morphed into something ugly and angry.

Failure…

Would be equivalent to his family's death warrant.

Therefore, he'd have to pull out all the stops and think of a way to get into a bank, no matter what.

Vlad Masters would have cried tears of evil joy over the suddenly sinister expression Danny's face took on. Third time was the charm, after all, and if he had his way, and he would, the First National Bank of Dakota would be down a few thousand in just a few hours.

* * *

It took more than a few hours, but Danny Phantom was as good as his word. Get in, get the money, and get out. Of course, the letter had only mentioned that _he _couldn't receive any attention from the police.

It hadn't said that Carl Stevens couldn't.

Who was Carl Stevens, you might ask? He was a security guard at Dakota First National, which made him an ideal target to overshadow. The only reason it had taken him more than an hour to pull off the heist was that he'd never been especially tempted to learn the intricacies of overshadowing before.

He'd needed a little practice, but it had come to him easily enough.

Almost like…instinct, actually.

Then again, he was a ghost. Carl Stevens' body smiled genially as he sauntered out of the bank, a large sack slung over his should full of gold bars and emblazoned with the emblem of the bank on it. It hadn't taken long for people to realize that something was up with the person he was possessing, but he knew he'd be able to use his ghostly powers to move things along.

Ironically, that lesson was thanks to Vlad.

Without further fanfare, and before any real police could arrive, Danny phased his own body out of the security guard and grabbed the bag of money, taking care to remain invisible and intangible as Carl collapsed to the ground.

"Well that's something you don't see everyday: a bank bag just disappear into thin air. I think we've got more company than an unconscious guard, don't you Gear?"

Danny admirably refrained from cursing as he spotted what could only be the local superheroes. The one who had spoken was wearing a large blue coat over black pants and a white T-shirt with a lightning bolt piercing a circle.

"Running a full-range spectrograph, right now Static." The other one was wearing a green and white vest/pants combination and hovering on…rocket powered rollerblades? The sheer…strangeness of the moment gave Danny pause.

It would be his downfall.

"Backpack's got a hit!" Gear crowed proudly. "Abnormally cold spot of air right above the guard. Giving off some seriously weird energy, too!" The scent of ozone was all the warning he got before the-_literal_-shock of the attack brought him back into the visual spectrum.

Gear and Static stared at the white-haired, jump-suit wearing teen that emerged from nothing. The, admittedly mild, charge of electricity had dissipated over his form unnaturally quickly and they shivered as spectral green eyes locked onto them.

"You know," Phantom said as he dropped the bag and summoned ecto-blasts to his palms, "I wasn't looking for a fight. Now that I think about it, this would be a great chance to blow off some steam."

Static frowned. "In my experience, thieves never want a fight. They'd rather walk out with the goods unopposed."

"Besides," Gear cut in, "You look like you could use a good workout! You're so scrawny I'd worry about beating up someone half-dead."

Danny's face went cold as an old conflict rose up within him. One side told him just to clear out. After all, he'd already blown the assignment. Better to try again in another town than get in a pointless fight.

The other one, that usually sounded too much like Dark Dan for his liking, was tired of being pushed around, blackmailed, and _shot with energy blasts_! Normally, Phantom would be the better man and back down.

Normally.

Just like, normally, he would fire a warning shot or two to drive off whatever he was facing. Sam and Tucker normally attributed it to bad aim, but never had the insight to wonder why someone who'd spent an entire childhood around Fenton rifles, pistols, and miscellaneous weaponry would be so prone to missing shots.

The twin ecto-blasts hit the two heroes in the chest, knocking them off balance and away from him. Danny took to higher air and began charging another blast.

Static, however, had a faster reaction time than he'd expected and had shot out a bolt of electricity to grasp a parking meter and throw it in his direction. Danny snorted and phased into intangibility, letting it pass through him.

Phantom frowned as the meter left something behind as it passed through him. Later, he would equate it to an 'after-taste,' with Static's electrical charge tingling his ectoplasmic flesh.

"If that's your best shot, I've got a few tricks to teach you," Danny gloated as he waved his hand, dispersing a wide-area blast and forcing the two heroes to impact a nearby building.

"Oh yeah, skinny, try this!" Static yelled and thrust a bolt of lightning at the white-haired teen. Danny caught the full brunt of the shock and almost bit his tongue off as he fell out of the sky…

And _through_ the ground.

Gear blinked. "Okay, so…that's bad. Think he's gone Virg?"

Static frowned. "I'm more worried about what he is, Rich, than were he is right now. He's nothing like a normal Bang Baby!"

Gear nodded. "Backpack is scanning for some of those wonky energy readings, but whatever kind of blasts he's using seem to bleed it off like radiation."

Static paled. "I don't need to worry about growing a third arm, right?"

Gear shook his head as they both kept one eye on their surroundings. Things were getting more and more tense the longer…whoever it was stayed hidden. "Nothing harmful and its dissipating quickly, just-Look Out!"

Danny emerged from the ground behind Static and threw him off his flying disk, towards the ground. The five-foot drop only stunned him momentarily and Gear moved to take up the slack.

The techie pulled two egg-shaped grenades from his belt and threw them towards the white-haired teen. "My turn."

"Go directly to jail, do not collect two-hundred dollars." Danny snarked and phased into intangibility as the two eggs exploded into wads of purple goo. Instead of reverting to his normal phase, Danny switched to invisibility also, appearing behind Gear and with a hand inside the computer on his back. "Game over, Hero."

Phantom ignored the splitting pain in his head from his conscience.

Even as Gear tried to control his landing, Static reached out with his powers to a series of vertical metal beams, uprooting them and pulling them towards Phantom. "Stay away from my friend, dirtbag!"

Danny's eyes widened significantly as he realized those metal beams weren't just freestanding-they were _support_ beams! Without a second thought, Danny elongated his body into a mere spectral wisp and dodged the flying debris. He was already on his way even as a massive steel overhang started to give way…

Regardless of the teenage girl and eight-year old boy underneath it.

Even with an air speed of nearly two-hundred miles an hour, it would be close, but Danny beat the awning by a few microseconds. He swept the children off their feet as his intangibility flowed over them, too. Arriving on the other side, he set the kids down and gave them a once-over to make sure there wasn't any damage. Satisfied, he smiled down at them from where they were kneeling on the ground in front of him.

"You two okay?"

"Barbara! Thank God! Is Jim okay!"

Danny watched as a panicked woman, most likely their mother, ran over to the children, even as they gave him a hesitant smile. "Thank you."

It was the girl who said it, softly enough that he almost missed it. She had fiery red hair and brilliant blue eyes not so much unlike his normal ones. "No prob. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go teach some superheroes a lesson. Have a good day Ms…?"

"Mrs. Gordon," The woman said, bestowing wrenching hugs on both her children and then one on Danny himself. "Thank you so much, young man. I'm so glad this town has someone like you to-"

"Mrs. Gordon," Danny said, slightly flushed. "I appreciate the compliment, but I'm the bad guy here. Bank robbery and all that. If you'll excuse me now…?"

The Gothamite blinked in shock as the ghost teen stepped away from her to pick up a full bank bag and then marched over to Static, buried under the very metal beams he'd tried to stop Danny with. Looking into the Hero's eyes, he saw the impotent pain that he'd known all too well time and again.

He ignored it.

As stupid as he acted from time to time, he'd never been so impulsive as to put innocents in danger thoughtlessly. It made him angry that someone like this was allowed to be fly around picking fights with other humans while he'd been forced to stand against monsters that would crush these…these…_children_ like Styrofoam.

It made him more than mad.

It made him furious.

He might not have been as impulsive as Static, but he had his own brand of recklessness that was all too evident in his words to the African-American meta-human. "The next time you play hero, try to remember who you're protecting before you remember who you're fighting," Phantom advised.

Static just growled at him.

Danny shrugged and flew away before Gear could get his senses back together. He was already standing up and would see to the mess Static had gotten himself into. The gold was heavy, but his heart carried little of the weight he'd thought it would.

He'd robbed a bank, but saved two lives.

He really didn't know how to feel about either any more. Good…Evil, it was all just so confusing. He sighed and resolved to think more on who he was…later.

Right now, he had a few more towns to try and rob blind.

And…figure out what to do with a bag of gold bars.

Danny smacked his forehead in exasperation.

* * *

"You'll need to fill out these forms."

The man(?) in the deep purple robe set down a stack of paper in front of him and walked away without another word. Danny, as Phantom, raised an eyebrow at the lack of recognition, inflection, or anything that would hint at the man having a personality. Currently, his vote was on robots…but he hadn't ruled clones out either.

Especially with his recent personal experience.

Danny raised another eyebrow at the forms as his eyes traced over the words. The questions were…strange, but he supposed he should have expected that. There were, of course, the standard 'name, course selection, and bunk assignment portions,' but…

Known Nemeses?

Are there any current bounties on your head?

Have you been involved in any violent public conflicts in the month before attending this institution? If yes, where and when? Is an arrest warrant pending?

The questions got stranger from there and Danny had to dig through his memory to find answers. Regrettably, he had to take extra space to list the people who 'wanted to see him killed, dismembered, or die a gruesome death.'

And, come to think of it, Amity Park never _had_ rescinded that bounty on his head, even after the ghost invasion last year. He frowned, flipping through another few pages and finally down to his signature.

He paused and then, in his fastest, roughest script, signed _Danny Phantom_.

Another purple figure appeared as he set the pen down and looked over the mass of paperwork. Even though he (it?) gave no indication of it, Danny felt that he was distinctly non-pulsed at the fairly lengthy list of accomplishments.

The ghost teen didn't know whether to be proud or depressed by that fact.

"This way, Mr. Phantom."

The walk down the maze-like hallway was considerable as they passed through immense bunker-like doors, ID checkpoints, and a computer terminal hidden into the wall that took his retinal scan and logged it in the database. He was also presented with a thin band of gold and copper for his left wrist. His attendant had said something about a radio-emitter.

"This is Professor Chang, he will see to your needs."

Another, or the same, purple figure left him in a long hallway filled with every imaginable weapon he could recognize…and quite a few he didn't. There were guns, beam pistols, throwing stars, grenades, bazookas, and…was that a catapult?

"Ah, hello there, young man."

Danny returned his gaze to the stooped-over vaguely Asian man in the bulky white hazmat suit. Strange goggles were attached to the front of his face, looking weighted with technological oddities.

"Professor Chang," Danny greeted, his voice carefully neutral. The bizarre man gave off _all_ the wrong vibes to his finely tuned senses.

"Welcome to my armory," Chang said proudly, waving at the weapons. "This is the general gallery, weapons available to the student body at large during training simulations and missions. If you have any weapons on you currently, I'd be happy to store them in a private locker for you."

Danny frowned, mindful of the footlockers in his pockets. He'd decided to come ready for anything short of a full-scale war; to that point, he'd 'barrowed' the Fenton Crammer and a good amount of his family's weapons store.

"No thanks," Danny replied evenly.

Chang frowned, but his gaze relented as he took in the identification bracelet the teen was wearing. "Very well, you're registered as an 'A' class student and therefore have the privilege of keeping weapons in your room. If you class ever drops below a 'B' however, I expect you to present your weapons to me post haste."

Danny nodded grudgingly. Of course, his performance was directly related to his family and friend's survival, which meant there was no way in hell that would happen. "Do I get any other…privileges?"

Chang frowned further. "Weekend passes, access to computers, weapons' repair stations, and you can requisition rare titles from the general library, but you'll have to talk to Brother Blood about that."

Danny stared. "I'll…do that." Yeah, right. He'd rather stay as far away from 'Brother Blood' as humanly possible. Or ghostly.

"You'll need to go to your room for the night," Chang stated, looking at the ghost teen's paperwork. "That will be on level three. Ask one of the Acolytes if you need help finding it. I have work to do!"

Danny shrugged and took his leave of the strange man. He'd rather not be around Chang any more than necessary, either. He knew that he was on level one and if the Hive was underground. Proving that he still lacked the ability to properly thing things through, Danny phased through the floor without another thought.

Danny was immensely thankful that he stayed intangible when he emerged on the other side of the floor...ceiling, now. Beneath him was an immense area tilled in yellow hexagons, packed with people on benches to one side, and...

There were three, students, he supposed, running through laser fire, projectiles, and grasping metal tentacles. There were two large metal poles on the opposite sides, which obviously meant...

Danny blinked.

It was a training area! Like the one he, Tucker, and Sam had created in the basement lab in Fenton-Works. Albeit, this one was much more advanced than their homemade one. In fact, this one looked kind of...

Fun.

Danny frowned at the thought. He was here, grudgingly, to learn. There wasn't any time for fun if he wanted to succeed in his classes, keep his parents and friends alive, _and _not turn into the embodiment of all things evil. For the sake of the world in general, not just his family; that last one was very important.

Thanking whatever deity was looking out for him, Danny initiated full invisibility rather than the translucent-ness of intangibility and dodged laser-fire through to the next floor. This time he was more cautious and poked his head out...

into an empty hallway.

Danny rolled his eyes and phased into the visible and material spectrums and looked at his room assignment card Chang had given him. 306...309...313! Danny frowned at the number, although he and Johnny were on decent terms nowadays the whole 'trying to date/kill you sister'-thing still rankled with him a little. He shrugged and resolved to make the best of a bad situation. Hopefully, Johnny wouldn't show up and demand his number back.

The inside of the room was fairly standard and had all the luxury of a prison cell.

In short order he managed to use the Fenton Crammer to un-cram his luggage, pack away some clothing, and make sure all of his weapons were available and unaffected by the cramming.

The crammer itself when under lock and key in a Fenton-vault he'd brought with him for storing some of the especially nasty gear he'd brought along. It was one of his parent's few inventions that he put any amount of trust into and that was only because it had been special-built for a military contract.

It was Ecto-shielded, made of diamond-layered titanium, and had been show to resist anything short of a direct hit with a ballistic missile. The lock was DNA encoded to his fingerprint and given his...unique genetic profile, that was saying something.

That said, he still didn't know what his parents had been thinking when they tied twin nuclear power cells into the locking mechanism.

He decided not to ask.

With his luggage stored Danny did a sweep of the room with his ectoplasm. Surprisingly, it didn't react to anything except the normal wiring, which meant there weren't any electronic bugs in the walls, ceiling, or floor. He'd thought an institution of villainy would be more...sinister.

Deciding to forgo more paranoia for the evening, Danny paused at his bed.

He was still in enemy territory, but no one was watching...

The ghost teen shook his head. Even if the Headmistress knew his identity, there was the chance of another student dropping by. That meant he'd need to be cautious when taking human form.

He shrugged, and lay down on his bed.

After all, how hard could it be to sleep as a ghost?

* * *

The answer, as he found out, is that it was _very_ hard to sleep as a ghost.

In fact, he'd given up after lying there for two hours and pulled out a few textbooks that Hive had shipped ahead to prepare for classes and used the res of the night to study. Granted, eight hours of constant cramming (in the educational sense, not the Fenton one) he felt completely ready for anything the school could throw at him, but he also felt extraordinarily grumpy.

Grabbing his books, Danny stopped when he caught sight of the black trench coat that had been his father's attempt at a going away present. It was heavy, armored with ecto-reactive plates, bullet-resistant, and a host of other things that Danny couldn't bother to recite at the moment.

He'd worn it a few times to make his dad happy and gotten the surprise of his…well, not his life. More like the surprise of his week. The coat morphed _with_ him. He'd never had any of his clothes do that before…

Much like his jumpsuit, it inverted color spectrums too, becoming an almost phosphorescent white and the attached belt turning a solid black. It was a mystery exactly how it did that, but he'd decided to take it…just in case.

That, and he thought it made him look pretty cool.

He slipped on the trench coat and shivered as he felt it ectoplasm drain into it, bleaching away the color. He grinned and stepped out into the hallway, ready for anything.

Or so he thought.

* * *

He'd had many…preconceived notions(at least, that's what Sam would call them) about thieves, super-villains, and outlaws in general. Some of them were from personal experience…others were from the various news reports concerning Lex Luthor, The Joker, and even that Ebon character he'd seen in Dakota before he'd left.

_They_ were evil.

So far, he'd seen few of the evils that he'd expected.

Most of the students in the Hive were…just that, students. They wore costumes, were about his age, and carried around backpacks. If he didn't know any better, he'd think it was just Halloween at a normal school.

Then there was the way they'd greeted him.

He'd expected to be glared at. He'd _known_ there was going to be some animosity between the 'real' villains and himself. Except…there wasn't.

"Oh. My. God! You're Phantom aren't you! I'm such a big fan! Are you going to school here, now! I have all of your newspaper articles! I even kept the ones that called you a-_bleah-_hero! I always knew you were on the right side, though."

Danny stared.

She was obviously a student and was wearing some kind of strange armor and wing costume. Her eyes were glowing with low-level yellow light and she had an immense smile stretched across her face.

"Listen to me, though, babbling on and on like this. I know you must need to get to class, but…if you don't mind…could you…"

Danny stared at the notebook and pen blankly. Almost dumbly, his hand reached out and he gave her a large scrawl of a signature. He put a little flourish into it just for fun. She squealed excitedly and hugged the notebook to herself, running off.

Danny Phantom had just given his first autograph.

Throughout the day, he was amazed that it wasn't his last. Everyone seemed to want to shake his hand, compliment his new look (the jacket), or just say 'hi.' A disturbingly large number of them were female.

Judging from everything he'd experienced so far, there could be only one answer.

He was popular.

The idea was so alien that he hadn't even considered it, dismissing the possibility even as he stepped into Deception and Stealth 101. It was listed as a basic course and actually sounded interesting. Come to think of it, a lot of the courses did.

"Well, well, well…it looks like we have a new student today, class. Isn't that purr-fect!"

Danny's eyebrow twitched ominously.

The teacher was wearing a tight body-suit of either spandex or leather that left _nothing_ to the imagination. Actually, the word 'cat-suit' came to mind, seeing as her outfit came complete with ears and a tail. Her long, lean form was _lying_ on the teacher's desk giving him an almost lazy stare.

"I apologize for being late," Danny said stoically. "I don't know my way around the school yet." He felt the autographs were best left unmentioned.

"That's alright," The teacher slinked off the desk and paced up to him. "As you may or may not know, I'm Catwoman and you would be Mr...?"

"Phantom, Danny Phantom."

Catwoman's eyes glittered excitedly. "Ah, Mr. Phantom...our new celebrity. I was just telling the class how much I was looking forward to grading your summer assignments."

Danny nodded and pulled out two bank bags from his backpack. He'd left the one filled with gold bars in his room as that, as per the assignment's rules, hadn't been _successful_. "I left a stack or two of bills in each bag and in the bank's wrappers. I hope that qualifies as proof-of-theft."

Catwoman blinked and took the bags, pulling out the few thousand dollars that was inside. Her face, even through her mask, was obviously blank with surprise. Danny was taken by surprise as the rest of class stared vacantly at him along with their teacher.

"Class, read pages one through twenty as I speak with Mr. Phantom. I'll be back momentarily." Catwoman stated curtly as she motioned for Danny to follow her. There was a small office walled off from the lecture area that was nearly invisible due to the hexagonal tiles covering building surface.

As the door slid shut, Danny couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom.

"Well, I have to say I'm surprised," Catwoman stated, her speech still velvety and soft, but now carrying an undertone of seriousness. "I gave that assignment on late notice to force some of these slacker students to realize the futility and stupidity of robbing a bank. Evidently, though, you didn't read the introduction to your practical manual."

Danny blinked. "Practical manual? I only got the theory text for your class, Ms….uh, what exactly should I call you?"

"Just Catwoman," She stated absently as she absorbed the information. "Let me summarize the manual for you. Thieves, especially beginners, do not rob banks, museums, or mansions. We make our living off middle America, which grows fat and soft with their big screen TV's, multi-thousand dollar computers, and pricy cars. All three of these are easily liquidated."

"I'd wondered what I was going to do with those gold bars," Danny commented idly, stuck by an unusual moment of common sense. "I mean, I can't exactly buy a donut with one."

Catwoman blinked again. "Gold bars? You really do have a pair of brass balls, don't you kid? Why didn't you hand in one of those, too? I would have given extra credit."

Phantom gaped at the course language as his teacher's grin grew to canary-eating proportions. "Sorry, I just didn't think you'd want me to report a failure."

"Failure," Catwoman said, curiosity spiked. "I wouldn't call a robbery that got you gold a failure."

"You _did_ say we weren't supposed to fight superheroes, though."

Salina Kyle kept her face straight, even behind her mask. To not only have the balls to rob a bank, but succeed in spite of superhero intervention? "Which super tried to stop you?"

Danny frowned, drawing up the rather brutal throw-down he had back in Dakota. "Static and Gear, I think. They didn't seem very experienced, though, and put a lot of people in danger with how they used their powers recklessly."

Memories of similar, but less serious, events played out before his mind's eye. Mentally, he swore to himself that he would hold himself to a higher standard from now on. To be more careful with his powers, more aware of his surroundings.

Catwoman smiled even larger. "Well, I have to ask, how did you manage to pull off those heists."

"Overshadowing," Danny explained, only to be met with incomprehension. He racked his brain for a moment, coming up with a different term. "Think of it like a short-term possession. I heard someone once describe it as suppressing someone's mind and…taking control of their body. I really don't like to think of it that way, though."

It made him seem more like Vlad and his other self than he was really comfortable with.

"Possession," Catwoman said and he noted a certain…distaste for the ability in her tone. "Interesting. Well, if you can manage a bank robbery, without anyone noticing, you certain don't belong in a 100-level course. I'll give you credit for it, of course, but you'll need to attend the…"

Phantom watched as the teacher (it still felt strange to refer to one of Gotham's most famous rogue's gallery members as his teacher) shuffled through a stack of forms, looking for something. She smiled widely again as she pulled out a specific sheet.

"Attend this lecture/lab. It's a 300-level technologies course call Infiltration and Interrogation Gear. I think the Toyman is in charge of that class. Try to make it back next semester for my 300-level Terrain and Environment Awareness class." Danny's attention spiked on the mention of Catwoman's other course. Now _that_ sounded like something he needed to take.

After months of Lancer, he knew a dismissal when he heard one.

Anyway, next class was…he took out his schedule 'Economics of Crime.'

Great. Idly, he wondered if he'd meet another legendary villain in _that_ class.

* * *

Peace Out-Slayer Anderson!

**EMERGENCY! ALL the Danny Phantom episodes are being deleted from Youtube! I am counting on you to post new ones. The more good quality DP episodes there are, the faster I will try to update!**

**If you want me to keep updating my ****_Phantom in the Bund_**** DP/Dance in the Vampire Bund Crossover story, the first story in a multi-crossover series spanning most of my DP crossovers, I need Dance in the Vampire Bund volumes 11-13 available ASAP! I will focus on my other stories less as well until I can get the manga so I can know more about the series (a big part of the reason I have waited so long for some of my other stories).**

**Happy Holidays!**


	3. Chapter 3

Adopted From: Slayer Anderson

Hive Minded III

A Teen Titans/Danny Phantom Crossover Fanfiction

10/14/09

* * *

Chapter 3-Black Cats with Pink Fur

* * *

"Initiation?"

The word came out of his mouth in dumb surprise. He'd never considered that there would be yet _another_ complication even _after_ joining the HIVE. Besides, after one month of classes, he'd thought the worst, what there was of it, was over.

Beyond the culture shock of realizing he'd become a champion of villainy without realizing, or desiring it, there had been the difficulty of his classes. It was both frightening and liberating to discover that the classes were _fun_. They were everything he'd ever asked from school, but never gotten. Add to that the fact he was Phantom 24/7 nowadays…he was working far beyond what he'd ever considered possible when he was being Amity Park's hero.

Which…if he was honest, scared him more than anything.

Before his transformation into Phantom, he'd never taken school seriously. It wasn't as if he'd blown it off, but…he'd been a normal teenager. Work just hard enough to pass and all that. Now that he actually had time to learn, after being deprived of any free time for so long…

He'd grown to resent Amity Park.

He'd never really even had the choice of living a normal life or becoming what he was, but now that he was among his own…_kind_, for lack of a better word. It might have been a perverted, strange, bizarre kind of normalcy, but he felt more at home in the HIVE than he had in the last two years in Amity Park.

"Yeah, Initiation, Snot-Breath!"

His mind flinched back to the present, looking on in horror as a midget in green and black and a hairy giant as big as Skulker pulled out a ballerina dress and a unicycle.

"You want me to wear that?" Danny asked, his trigger finger twitching for an ecto-gun. Yes, this would teach him to answer the door. After all, he was in a school for people who made a living out of ambushing and robbing.

"Yup," Mammoth said, smiling as maliciously as someone of his IQ could manage. Danny frowned and took a moment to consider.

Then, he gave in and grabbed the Fenton Sprayer he'd kept by the door for just such occasions, raised it, and fired in the space of two seconds. The fluid motion caught both trainees off guard as they found themselves glued to the opposite wall in green sludge. Phantom took a moment to pick up the pink monstrosity and slap it onto the two new wall hangings.

He was very satisfied when it stuck to the excess glue-like substance, leaving the two appearing to be wearing the same dress. "Try it again and I'll make you dance Swan Lake in the cafeteria."

Mammoth and Gizmo each gave him a smoldering glare.

If anything, the incident with the two other students, who he'd sense learned were seniors, had made him more popular. Evidently, the two were part of a trio which were eligible for graduation in just a few months. The third of the group was named Jinx, and was female, but preferred to keep a lower profile.

Given how much flack those two were giving him for doing that to them, he completely understood her decision. Thankfully, the teachers here didn't have much of a problem with student-on-student violence unless it either disrupted class or threatened to destroy any major part of the school itself.

Danny found that aspect of the HIVE refreshing, too.

He was actually able to _defend_ himself from bullies!

"Mr. Fenton, may I see you after class?"

Danny twitched…that was another part of the HIVE that he was still getting used to. Namely, Brother Blood. The man was creepier than Vlad, and even _he_ found that hard to believe, and he had class with the man every other day!

"Yes Sir."

That was another thing, Brother Blood demanded respect, and got it in almost every case. When he didn't get it, things tended to _happen_ to those students. Bad Things. Still, no matter how obviously sinister the man was, he was equally brilliant.

Vlad was just creepy.

And obsessed with his mother.

That was a rather large black mark against him.

Brother Blood hadn't actually _done_ anything to threatened him, his family, or his friends. Granted, he was _suspected_ of doing some fairly…nasty things to some of his less reputable classmates, but…

Well, he was in a school full of villains-in-training, wasn't he?

It didn't _really_ matter if the man had to break some bones and bruise some flesh to get some respect every now and then…

Did it?

As the rest of the class filed out slowly, Danny waited patiently for Blood at his desk. Finally, the austere-looking man turned to Phantom and smiled grandfatherly.

"Well, Mr. Phantom, I'd first like to commend you on your efforts in my Abnormal Psychology and Torment class. You've progressed through the course-work faster than I'd expected any first-year to." Danny mentally thanked his sister for drumming the subject into him so well.

"But," Blood frowned. "You're not doing as well in my Religious Studies and Daemonology Theory. Given your…unique background, it's understandable, but I'm going to need you to seek outside assistance to keep you grade up."

Danny frowned. If he was reading the man right, it was a slight on his ability to perform independently as well as a offer of aid. "What would you suggest, sir?"

"A tutor. I believe…yes, there was a student last year who scored phenomenally well. You'll be free to choose someone else, but I personally recommend her. Here is her room number. I expect to see your grades improve."

Danny took the offered slip of paper and didn't need to inquire as to the unsaid 'or else.' "Yes sir. This is my last class today, so I'll get right on it."

* * *

As his student left, Brother Blood's frown deepened considerably. Phantom was a wrench in his plans; one that would need to be dealt with eventually. Until that time came, he would see if he could convert the child with more mundane methods of persuasion.

After all, mind control and brainwashing, while useful, weren't in the least bit subtle. Phantoms brain chemistry and unique physiology voided the effectiveness of drugs and gases and his psychic powers seemed to have little to no effect either.

Ah well, no one ever said anything truly worth the effort was easy to obtain.

* * *

He knocked lightly and the door opened almost instantaneously.

What he saw was not, in a million years, what he would have expected.

She was approximately his own age, but possessed of an almost pixie-like figure topped by pink hair and pink cat-like eyes. Her clothing was odd shades of blue/purple and black that merely added to the strange fey-like look of her appearance. Her movements were altogether stranger; she was something between a dancer and a savage fighter that embodied a grace he'd only seen in predatory cats about to pounce.

Above all, though, she was dangerous.

Danny _really_ hoped that was why he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Phantom, eh?" She asked, despite obviously already knowing who he was. "Well, isn't this a surprise. Come to offer an apology for embarrassing my teammates?"

The last month's worth of controlling his tongue showed off in the fact that he didn't yell with surprise. Still, he knew the identity of his tutor now. "I never occurred to me," Danny said honestly. "When someone comes to my door suggesting I parade around in a tutu they deserve what they get."

Jinx shrugged, as if the subject didn't truly matter to her…and maybe it didn't.

"Then why are you here, spook?"

Danny didn't take the comment as an insult, like she had obviously meant it. After having such barbs thrown at him back in Amity, it was little more than an annoyance. "I need tutoring in Religious Studies and Daemonology Theory. Brother Blood suggested you."

Jinx blinked at the bluntness of the proposal, but shrugged again. "So? While I don't particularly care _that_ much about my teammates, you did embarrass them rather badly."

Danny couldn't figure out, for the life (or afterlife) of him, why she seemed thrilled by the concept. Still, she was obviously hinting at some form of compensation. "What do you want? I can pay if you'd like."

The pinkette licked her lips and tapped her chin for a moment as she appraised him, before turning and allowing him to come into her room. As the door slid shut behind him, the first thing that hit Phantom was the scent. Deep lavender and splashes of spicy cinnamon. The light was cut low and caused unusual shadows to play across the clashing hot pink and navy blue décor.

It reminded him, very vaguely, of Sam's room.

However, the goth's room was more…morose. Jinx's seemed almost…viciously happy as it laughed in the face of all that was grim and dark.

Danny shook his head to clear the incense from it. Now was not the time to be waxing poetic. He watched as Jinx rummaged through her closet and pulled out a blouse and skirt in her trademark black and purple.

"No."

Jinx pouted childishly. "And what makes you think I'll ask you to put this on?"

Danny glared coldly at the pinkette.

Jinx shrugged again and put the dress down on her bed. "You did ruin the initiation dress with that green goo, so you'll have to wear one of mine. You should feel honored; I never loan out my clothes."

Danny's white eyebrow twitched ominously. "How about money? Do you need help in another class? _Any_thing besides dressing in drag?"

Jinx raised her own pink eyebrow in challenge. "If you're that opposed to public humiliation…I guess we can compromise. You wear the dress while I tutor you in the safety of your own room. No…witnesses, just you and me. Just a little...private humiliation."

"Somehow I get the feeling that would be worse," Danny stated evenly.

"Suit yourself," Jinx snorted. "_I'm_ not the one that needs help. Why don't you go find one of those pathetic hero-worshipers that go all googly-eyed when you walk by? I'm sure they'd be willing to help, if they can form a coherent sentence in your presence."

Phantom frowned. She was right, sadly enough. Hero-worship was ego-boosting, but offered very few actual rewards. Jinx was probably his best bet for any actual help and the rest of her graduating class either hated him or wasn't the kind of person he'd go near without heavy weaponry, let alone see on a regular basis.

"Give me the dress," Danny said darkly.

Jinx's ensuing grin didn't help the situation _at all_.

* * *

"I don't get it Jinx, why are you helping that scum-buffer!"

Gizmo's complaint fell on deaf ears as Jinx continued her careful maintenance of her pink 'horns' of hair. They were part of her signature look and had to be scrupulously perfect. Finally, she turned from her personal corner of their team's gear-up room and stared down the diminutive genius.

Gizmo almost flinched under the intensity of her cattish eyes.

"You haven't been watching Phantom at all, have you?"

Gizmo shrugged off the derogatory tone effortlessly. "What's there to watch! That white-haired weirdo doesn't do anything, but study, study, study!"

"Exactly," Jinx smirked.

Mammoth cocked his head curiously between bites of his sandwich. It wasn't really his place to decide what the team was going to do (he just got them through whatever _obstacles_ they found in their way), as such, he'd agree with whoever won the argument, even if he did think Phantom was a jerk. They _had_ been following tradition after all.

"Huh?" Gizmo asked intelligently.

"He's alone!" Jinx cried in frustration, slapping Gizmo's bald head. "No friend! He isn't even looking for teammates! Have you even heard of some of the things he's done!"

"That snot for brains spook ain't nothing!" Gizmo defended. "All that mess is just rumors!"

"He's here, isn't he?" Jinx asked, stopping Gizmo cold. "Since when has the Headmistress bought into rumors, no matter how grand they are?"

The midget scowled, but remained silent.

"Say, he's done a quarter of the things they say he has," Jinx theorized. "There's proof, though, that he fought Pariah Dark. That's the _Ghost King_, in case you didn't know! That alone says that he's powerful!"

"Then there's the fact that no one has ever figured out what he's up to in that stupid little city he almost took over! They practically worship him over there!"

"That still doesn't explain why you're helping him," Gizmo pointed out.

Jinx slapped her forehead in irritation.

"Gizmo, we're a good team, right?" Jinx asked, receiving a nod in reply. "If we had Phantom, we'd be a great team."

Outrage bubbling on his miniscule features, Jinx held up a hand.

"Or…someone else decides to partner up with him," The genius's anger soured as he considered the point. "He's either a threat or the best opportunity we've seen in a long time."

"Fine," Gizmo spat. "If the nerf-jammer passes his exams at the end of the year, he can try out."

Jinx grinned widely.

* * *

Daniel Fenton sighed.

It felt strange to be human again after two solid weeks of ghost-hood. He'd decided to make use of one of his weekend passes and catch a movie, get some non-cafeteria food, and try and be norm…_human_ normal for a little while. In that time, he'd discovered something profoundly earth-shaking…

Normal was boring.

Sure, it felt good to have a real stomach to digest food (you really don't want to know what ghosts had) for the first time in three weeks, but his body felt heavy, too hot, and weak. It was disturbing that he'd consider his human half debilitating. He sighed as he slid another coin into the pay phone and pressed a long series of digits.

_Ring…Ring-_

_Click!_ "Fenton residence, who may I ask is calling?"

"Jazz," Danny asked, despite already knowing it was her. "It's Danny. What's up?"

A pause. "Hi Danny, uh…how are you?"

Danny blinked. "Fine. School's…pretty good actually."

"Well, I'd hope so, since you left home to move across country just to go there."

Danny rubbed his black hair awkwardly. "Jazz, I just called to say hi, I really don't want to fight. Are you doing alright?"

Jazz sighed. "Sorry. I'm fine. I just…miss my little brother, I guess. Amity Park isn't the same without you Danny."

"I sure hope not," Danny chuckled wryly. "If anything, I'd think there'd be less ghosts without me there to rile them up."

There was an awkward silence. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself Danny. You were doing good things. What classes are you taking?"

Danny recognized the rather blatant attempt at changing the subject, but let it pass. "Well, Psychology (Abnormal Psychology and Torment) for one…Religious Studies (And Deamonology Theory), Metal Shop (Infiltration and Interrogation Gear), and…uh…"

_How were you supposed to translate 'Secret Base Development and Construction' into a normal course?_ With a flash of insight, Danny added, "And Geography!"

Jazz hummed thoughtfully over the phone. "Well, I'm glad to hear you're taking Psychology, at least. That seems like a light load, though. I'd think they'd want you to take more hours than that."

Danny nodded out of habit, stopping himself when he realized she couldn't see him over the phone. "Well, those were just electives. I've got a social studies (History of Villainy), a math (Engineering the Death Ray), an English (Information Gathering: Know Thy Enemy), and science (Particle Physics)."

Jazz whistled lowly, impressed despite herself. "And you're handling that okay? It seems like a lot for a first year student."

"The teachers are really great," Danny replied, surprising himself by the fact that it was _true_…at least, as long as you didn't get on their bad side. "Although, I am getting tutored in Religious Studies."

"Really, who's your tutor?"

"Uh…" Danny stalled. "We haven't had a session yet. She just came recommended by the teacher."

"Oh," Jazz stated neutrally. "Well, Mom and Dad aren't here right now. Ever since…Inviso-bill left town, they've been doing a lot of contract work securing houses against ghost attacks."

"Oh," Danny echoed. "Well, tell them I called."

"I will, bye."

"Bye."

The suddenly guilt-ridden teen sighed deeply as he hung up the phone. He shook his head and walked into the nearest alleyway, transforming once he was out of sight. The familiar weightlessness and chill were comforting to him as he flew, invisibly back to the HIVE.

His science homework would push those thoughts away well enough.

* * *

On the other side of the continent, Jasmine Fenton quirked an eyebrow as she put the phone down. "Metal Shop," She asked herself disbelievingly, "You think you know someone."

A block away from the other side of the continent, two other people were having their own, decidedly more heated, conversation.

"Tucker, for the last time, this isn't about me being jealous, paranoid, or a scorned lover…which, by the way, I _will_ get you back for." Sam threatened angrily.

Tucker chuckled nervously from his place in front of his computer. "Sorry Sam, but his is borderline obsession. Danny told us where he was going, why he was leaving Amity Park, and we should respect his wishes."

Sam growled lightly. "It…doesn't strike you as…I don't know, weird or anything! That, one day, Danny's hanging out with us and the next he's sick of his hometown and leaves…_just like that_! Something stinks, Tuck, I just don't know what."

Tucker sighed. "Look, I've done a background check on this HIVE academy place and its all legit. Accredited High School and University classes, the best and brightest, they even have those too-corny-to-be-fake school mottos: 'Busy as a hive of bees.' Do you really think any self-respecting ghost would hide behind _that_?"

Sam frowned as Tucker continued.

"I don't even think _Vlad_ is that desperate to get Danny. Heck, he'd probably try cloning him first!" Tucker laughed at his own joke. After all, Danny would tell them if something like _that_happened.

"Ha, ha," Sam deadpanned, anger flushing out of her system as she collapsed onto the couch. "I just…do you think we drove Danny away? He had to save us just as much as the rest of Amity Park."

"And we saved his but right back!" Tucker corrected. "We're friends, Sam, and friends don't drive each other away unless they're trying to protect each other from a super-evil life-threatening group of sinister fiends."

"Tucker," Sam pleaded. "Stop with the jokes, please. I think that one might have permanently damaged my sense of humor. So, what, we just let Danny do what he wants?"

"Well…yeah," Tucker shrugged. "I mean, we can't _force_ him to stick around and get shot at by his parents, the Guys In White, every ghost-hunter that blows into town, _and_ his arch nemesis, but that doesn't mean we can't give him an ear-full when he comes back for vacation. I can't believe he hasn't called yet!"

Sam sighed. "Fine, you win, Tuck. I still feel like there's something we should be doing, though…"

Tucker rubbed his chin as he probed the recesses of his mind for here-to-forgotten world-ending emergencies, spectral troublemakers on the loose, or over-due library books. As he looked out the window, though, his thought-process was derailed.

"Sam, is a ghost sense communicable?"

The goth blinked. "No. Why?"

"'Cause we've got a serious ecto-dragon problem outside and it _would _explain the bad mojo you've been feeling all day," Tucker explained as he watched a red-clothed figure on a flying surfboard enter the fray.

"Oh," Sam nodded, then blinked.

"_WHAT_!"

* * *

Vlad Plasmius was…concerned.

Not panicky. Just concerned. Maybe a little anxious, even. Young Daniel had been absent from Amity Park for quite a few weeks now, having transferred to some manner of boarding school. He would have noticed sooner, save for the fact that the ghost boy had done a marvelous job destroying his laboratory, all the semi-viable clones, and turning the semi-stable female clone to his side of their little game.

In short, he'd been distracted.

It was a forgivable, if damning lapse in concentration. After the initial cleanup had been accomplished, he'd foolishly thought to expend resources on 'Danni' rather than hunt for the original as he should have.

Another blunder.

Then…there was the matter of exactly _what_ school the boy had gone to. Had he even a name to go on he could have maneuvered his way into a guest lecturing position or, if time allowed, a teaching position! He'd have all the time in the world to wear down Daniel's childish rebellion.

But, despite his exhaustive research, he _did not_ have a name.

Which meant all manner of things.

But, mostly, it meant that _someone else_ was interested in _his_ little badger! Someone had managed to recruit Daniel, someone with resources, capital, and a very effective agency to cover his/her/their operation.

It could be that he was jumping to conclusions, true.

He _was_ only…well, he was at least _part_ human. He could have overlooked something. He could have missed some manner of clue, but…

Daniel's little friends didn't talk about the school, its location, Daniel's well-being, or anything relating to the ghost child much at all. Which, to him, meant that there had been some kind of break in their friendship dynamic.

Or…he needed more spy cameras.

His family, especially Jasmine, seemed to have little to say on the matter either, which was extremely odd as well. Jack, idiot that he was, could be counted on to spill information of any kind when bribed with fudge. Maddie…

Ah, Maddie…

He shook himself roughly; it was not the time! Maddie, from what he _could_ glean, only knew that the school had a reputation as an 'Academy for Extraordinary Young People.' Quite frankly, if he didn't know any better…

Vlad's gaze narrowed, threatening to burn a hole in the distance.

He'd say it stank of mind control. Or…at least some low level brainwashing.

"Hmm…" The half-ghost rumbled angrily. "I need a plan…something that will get young Daniel's attention. Something which will force him to reappear to save Amity Park. Even if he's being held against his will…he would brave the Ghost King's Army as many times as it took to come to his friends' aid."

Vlad frowned and sighed. "It _is_ one of his more endearing qualities."

But _what!_

"Something big," Plasmius muttered to himself. "Something…flashy. Skulker…no, not dramatic enough. Ember…even Daniel's friends could deal with her. I need something new. Something that will cause him to worry…"

Irritation mounting, Vlad set down to peruse Skulker's reports of the goings-on in the Ghost Zone. Walker being paranoid…Wulf escaped _again_…the Observants setting a trial…

Plasmius blinked.

Those anti-interventionist zealots were actually involving themselves in something! This he'd have to see…Vortex…Weather Control…Hmmm.

The idea had merit.

A shame the ghost's justice system was just as slow as the human's. It would be months before he could raid the Observants keep. He'd have to wait until then, as many of the holding cells were secured by Clockwork, a ghost that even _he _didn't want to cross without _good_ reason. Besides, he could always amuse himself with Daniel's little friends in the mean time.

Giving Prince Aragon his amulet back would ensure an evening's worth of entertainment. Grinning, Vlad flipped a few channels on his spy network and tuned in for another afternoon of prime-time programming.

Sadly, the dragon wouldn't come close to challenging Daniel's friends and his own pawn-Valerie Gray, but it would at least kept them on their toes and distracted from any attempts on the youngest Fenton by themselves.

Because…if Daniel _was_ being held against his will, earning his gratitude would be…interesting, if nothing else.

* * *

Okay, folks, another chapter down...mainly because my college is on fall break and I don't really have a life.

_**READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES! I DON'T WRITE THEM FOR MY OWN HEALTH! THESE ARE TO INFORM YOU OF OUT-OF-PLOT DEVELOPMENTS!**_

Now, a few things before I cover reviews: Danny and Cross Dressing. I am neither a proponent, nor a critic of cross-dressers. I've never put on a dress in my life so I can't really put in my two cents. Regardless, I think having Danny cross-dress is a fun way to demean his character and put him off his game. Jinx knows this and is using it to her advantage. There are other reasons, which will be covered in the next chapter.

Because Danny became so isolationist, his friends don't know about Dani. The only people who know about her are Danny and Vlad. There are reasons behind this and they will become apparent later in the story.

I've got the plot pretty much mapped out. Vlad, Sam, Tucker, Jazz...most of the Amity Park crew will _not _be playing a big role in the story. Part of the reason is that one of the main reasons behind this story is to see Danny grow as a person, a hero, and a ghost. Part of that initiative was to change his environment by sending him to HIVE in the first place and acknowledge the crossover universe.

This is one of the reasons I'm doing cameos. You'll see a lot of DC Heroes and villains in this story simply due to my personal desire to use them. For those of you who really like seeing Danny, Sam, and Tuck run around like the Scooby Doo Gang (yes, Wulf would be the dog), this may not be the fic for you. I don't want to discourage you from reading the story, but I'm upfront about what I plan to do with the story.

* * *

Slayer-Out!

**EMERGENCY! ALL the Danny Phantom episodes are being deleted from Youtube! I am counting on you to post new ones. The more good quality DP episodes there are, the faster I will try to update!**

**If you want me to keep updating my ****_Phantom in the Bund_**** DP/Dance in the Vampire Bund Crossover story, the first story in a multi-crossover series spanning most of my DP crossovers, I need Dance in the Vampire Bund volumes 11-13 available ASAP! I will focus on my other stories less as well until I can get the manga so I can know more about the series (a big part of the reason I have waited so long for some of my other stories).**

**Happy New Year 2013! My Resolution is to try to update more!**


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